Mid 19th Century Hand Painted Toleware Tray France 1850

Description

The "toleware" tray has been decorated, in a highly artistic way, with flowers, leaves, and arabesques using gold paint on … more The "toleware" tray has been decorated, in a highly artistic way, with flowers, leaves, and arabesques using gold paint on a black background. “Toleware" is a painted and varnished tin household item made to imitate the imported Chinese lacquer items that were popular in Britain in the 18th century. The painting process was developed in the 18th century by Thomas Allgood in Pontypool in Wales, an important coal mining location. The paint was created with asphalt, a by-product of coal, mixed with shellac, and the mixture was applied to domestic objects made of the iron plate; different layers were distributed, each of which was brought to a high temperature so that the finished objects were extremely resistant and never rust. This process was known as Japanning because it resembled the lacquer on Chinese trays, soon spread throughout Europe, especially in France, where the decorations were more elaborate and precious. Our tray was made in France in 1850 during the reign of Napoleon III. Measures cm.74 x 50 x 4. less